Most of us remember being taught this lesson in our early years by any number of adults. Maybe it was that time in second grade when Jerry got to clean the chalk board erasers twice before you had your first opportunity. Maybe it was when your mother made you come home before you finished the neighborhood kickball game, just when your team was about to take the lead.
We see the same disparities in our “adult” world. We ordered that gift online weeks ago, but it didn’t arrive in time for the party. Heavy traffic delays us for that meeting when we could least afford to be late. That desirable assignment went to someone else, even though we were sure we were more qualified. Life will never be fair.
A leader must manage to this fact of life carefully to avoid some damaging pitfalls. One way of managing is to prepare the team with contingencies for when something “unfair” or unexpected happens. Similarly, the leader should take precautions to ensure fairness in working with team members, so that each team member is recognized for accomplishments, is given opportunities to succeed, and is valued as part of the team. Do what you can, and don’t be embarrassed to apologize if you slip up and let Jerry clean the chalk board out of turn.
Most of all, help your team move beyond any disappointments and frustrations, and focus on what can be done and what should be done next. The leader needs to acknowledge the difficulty, recognizing it for the setback or irritation it is, so that the team members will see that their frustrations are not being ignored. However, the team’s focus needs to move quickly beyond what did happen to what the team can make happen. The best response to setbacks are future successes.